Giants Trade Brock / Phillies send catcher Estalella

Henry Schulman, Chronicle Staff Writer

Published 4:00 am, Monday, December 13, 1999

1999-12-13 04:00:00 PDT Anaheim -- The Giants, showing immense confidence in the depth of their pitching staff, traded right-hander Chris Brock to the Phillies yesterday for a potentially powerful catcher who wore out his welcome in Philadelphia.

The Giants get 25-year-old Bobby Estalella, who has hit at least 15 homers in five different minor- league seasons, including 15 last year for Triple-A Scranton. But in the majors, he has a .218 batting average with 14 homers and 34 RBIs in 229 at-bats over four seasons.

Estalella may not be the final answer to the Giants' catching problem.

"This won't necessarily stop our pursuit for somebody with more experience," general manager Brian Sabean said after completing the deal. But Giants sources said it does not appear they will leave the winter meetings here with another catcher.

All of the veterans who are available -- Montreal's Chris Widger, San Diego's Carlos Hernandez and Cleveland's Tyler Houston -- are either unattractive to the Giants or out of their price range, in terms of their salaries as well as the players other teams want in return.

Moreover, Sabean insisted he would have no qualms about starting the season with Estalella and Doug Mirabelli as his catching platoon. Combined, the right-handed hitters have 134 games of major- league experience.

"From a depth standpoint, if the season started today, Doug Mirabelli would be the incumbent and Estalella would press the issue as far as how many games he would catch," Sabean said.

Brock was 6-8 with a 5.48 ERA for the Giants before a knee injury ended his 1999 season in July, but those stats belie his contribution to a pitching staff that suffered early in the season from Mark Gardner's injury and ineffectiveness and inconsistency from Shawn Estes and Kirk Rueter.

Brock was expected to vie for the fifth spot in the rotation again, or more likely work as the long man out of the 'pen, but the Giants swapped him for a much-needed body behind the plate following the free-agent departures of Brent Mayne and Scott Servais.

"We needed some depth in the catching area, and with the emergence of Joe Nathan and Russ Ortiz and other young guys, with seven starters, more than likely Brock and Gardy were going to be the long men out of the bullpen," manager Dusty Baker said. "This is a good break for Brock. We didn't want to give him up, but we filled a certain need. Estalella -- we've still got to see him play."

The Phillies hope Brock will bolster the rotation now that ace Curt Schilling is out at least until May with a shoulder injury.

Two years ago, Estalella and teammate Mike Lieberthal were both considered hot catching prospects. In 1997, Estalella hit three homers in a game for the Phillies as a September call-up.

While Lieberthal became an All- Star, Estalella struggled in the majors. When Lieberthal got hurt in 1998, and Estalella got an opportunity to replace him, Estalella hit .188 while his defense declined. In his defense, he had a torn rotator cuff. By the time he was healthy again last year, there was no work for him in Philadelphia.

He spent most of the year at Scranton and hit .231 with 15 homers and 62 RBIs in 386 at-bats. Phillies officials admitted yesterday that the team became disenchanted with him, and he with the team. They also stressed that he is still young and has the right tools.

"I think there was unfulfilled potential with us, but I think that potential still exists," Phillies GM Ed Wade said. Added manager Terry Francona, "We probably didn't see the best of him. Whether he turns into an All-Star or a backup, you're probably going to see a better player than we did."

In an interview from his Fort Lauderdale, Fla., home yesterday, Estalella admitted he was frustrated by a lack of communication with his superiors in Philadelphia. He also said his hitting improved at Scranton later in the 1999 season after his arm healed more and he could extend it better.

"To tell you the truth, I wanted a change, and San Francisco sounds perfect," Estalella said. "Me and Doug working together, that would be cool. I'm excited about it."